Nirmila considers herself lucky that she got the opportunity to study in a school. She is the youngest of the eight siblings in her family and one of the dedicated students of Rano Bheel Elementary School. She learnt a lot from the awareness programs provided by PEP and is famously known to have carried out a practical example regarding Social and Financial Education Programme (Aflatoun). Through the Aflatoun Savings Programme, Nirmila started a little business in 2013 by opening a shop in her area. She invested rupees 1500 in the shop by taking a loan of rupees 2000 from her school’s Aflatoun savings. When Nirmila opened her shop, she committed to pay rupees 100 each month to return the loan to the Aflatoun savings group. From the profit she received through her business, she purchased some of the necessary things she needed for her school, such as uniform, shoes, stationary and managed her own pocket money too. On one occasion, Nirmila's parents did not have enough money to pay her fees, but she had enough to manage to pay her fees through her own savings. Nirmila's family as well as her teacher were was very proud of what she had achieved. Her family believes she is truly an inspiration for other girls and for her community. Nirmila's business has now expanded and she gets a profit of rupees 5000. Nirmila is a student of Rano Bheel Elementary School Mirpurkhas (a district of rural Sindh). Anum's ContributionAnum is a student studying in one of the PEP schools at Tando Allahyar district of Sindh. She was inspired to join the WEP group in 2014 through observing a group who used to come for WEP meetings in her village. Through many trainings Anum learnt about girls' education, their rights and responsibilities, early marriage, cleanliness and about helping others through savings. She had been saving since 2014 and with her current savings that was rupees 10100/= she contributed to her family to buy a buffalo that was of rupees 15000. In rural Sindh people earn through the business of livestock which is why Anum's contribution to buy a buffalo was perfect for her family to start a business. Anum says savings can help women in lots of ways because they can contribute in supporting their families. It increases their importance of having a say in matters that men thought only they can handle, such as buying something only if the husband could afford. But if the wife has savings, both of them can contribute together and support their family which in result, encourages gender equality. The concept of savings through Aflatoun (Social and Financial education), children and communities greatly benefit as they learn skills that help them to have a balanced life and does make families struggle to make ends meet. Before having the education of Aflatoun in rural villages, communities suffered due to the lack of social and financial skills. But now, through having Aflatoun, communities are developing rapidly and know how to maintain a sustainable lifestyle. Impact more children by supporting the Aflatoun programme.
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I was always very fond of going to school, but we had no school in our village and my parents didn't have enough expenses to send me to a government school, so I didn't go to a school. At that time I was quite small, but I used to work in the fields with my father. Once while working in the fields, my father asked me if I wanted to study, and I shyly smiled. My father knew my answer. He then told about the new PEP school that had been opened in our village and many children were getting enrolled. At that moment I felt like the luckiest child on earth.
At that time I was enrolled as a first grader, but now I study in class five. I love the environment of my school because I can make many friends and our teacher is always very kind to us. I have learned about many important issues in my school that have encouraged me to think broadly. I learned about the importance of girls' education, and about health and sanitation. I have also learned how to save and spend money through the financial education (Aflatoun) program, and now I have started to have my own savings, which helps me to cover a lot my expenses on my own. I have increased my language skills through the letter land Training at PEP. Through this training, I have gained much confidence in speaking and writing English. After my school, I help my father in the fields because my father is a farmer. During the work hours in fields, I have the chance of telling him about my day in school. He looks very proud of me and he always encourages me to do best in school. I believe that through learning in school, I have experienced a good change in my personality and my behavior. I wish to become a teacher in future because I want to educate the poor children and work as a change agent for my community. Coming to school makes me happy because I have many friends and we share our time through studying and playing together. I am especially very happy to have a new building in my school, because more poor children will have the chance to learn in a school. "I was determined to study, because I wanted to learn to speak for my rights." Maria's willingness to learn was the proof that she wanted to make a difference for her community. She was one of the students from a PEP school, and now she had an opportunity to experience the Women's Empowerment Training (WEG). She deeply believes in the importance for girls to be educated. Through the WEG training, Maria has learned the skills to interact with women in her community, and to motivate them about education. She learned about some important issues such as health, consequences of early marriage, and the social and financial education. Learning about these issues have helped her to become wise and confident for the future. She actively participated in the WEG training and also helped the other women to participate. During the training, Maria shared an experience that motivated her to study hard. The reason she was so determined to study was because once she knew a girl in her community who had to face many troubles because of being uneducated. The girl got married when she was young, and unfortunately she had to face the awful behavior of her in laws. They used to beat her and behaved rudely towards her, but she didn't know that she had a right to stop the abuse that happened to her.
Maria was very discouraged by what she saw, and since that time she is very determined to work for girls' education and women rights. Maria has a dream, that all the girls of her community would be able to have an education, so that they could have equal rights and a better future. How would you feel if your hands were bound?
How would you feel not having your own voice? How would you feel if you didn’t have a right to choose? The urge to break free would become so urgent that it could shatter your hopes if you were left in drudgery. We believe every human has a need to freedom and when the most fundamental right of freedom is deprived, the spirit stops responding to any hope. The rural socio economics of Pakistan tells a similar story of an enslaved generation. Taking a closer look in the rural villages of Pakistan reveals a dim scenario of communities in rural Sindh that are under the bondage of poverty and bonded labor. The children of rural areas are more vulnerable to these calamities. They often face the burdens of having to take up responsibilities for the survival of the whole family. Children in rural areas often face the burden of earning for their families. They have to go to the fields and work hours in the sun which plays a huge role in the decision of their dropping out of school or either the reason for not coming to school. This happens due to the poverty the people of rural areas live in that enforces the children to work along with their families. Girls are even more disadvantaged in this situation due to the cultural traditions where girls are not allowed to move outside of a village. This gives them lesser opportunities to have an educated future. Due to this miserable state of people in rural areas half of the children in Sindh are out of school. They either have to work for a living or are not able to pay fee to come to school. These children don’t have a voice. But the Primary Education Project is trying to change that. PEP works in rural Sindh to enable children to have the opportunity to receive education. By providing children with low cost quality education PEP is trying to give children back their right and helping communities to become sustainable. There are 84 PEP schools in different villages of rural Sindh with baselines for girls’ enrollment. The mission of PEP is to give these children a voice and a status through education. Join Primary Education Project on its mission as it dreams to make these children the future change agents! ‘I remember my first day in class. I was very shy and uncomfortable with the class environment, but as I saw that my teachers encouraged me, I felt like my fear ran away.’
Sangeeta studies in PEP school and she is a very bright and intelligent student. Her father is a PEP teacher but Sangeeta’s mother never went to school. Sangeeta lives in small village with her family where education is something out of the ordinary. But when Sangeeta’s community saw how she progressed, they realized the importance of receiving an education, and now many children from Sangeeta’s village have started going to school. When Sangeeta was first enrolled in PEP school, she was very scared and had no confidence. She couldn’t speak in front of her class and she was very reluctant to take even small challenges of presenting and reading. One day Sangeeta’s teacher noted this behavior of her and since then encouraged her that she could do anything if she hoped in herself. Gradually Sangeeta tried to take up challenges in her class and made efforts to speak in front of her fellows. The encouragement of her parents and teachers helped her to experience the beautiful skills she had. Now, Sangeeta is the most brilliant student in her class and she can perform any task with great confidence and assurance. Sangeeta is not only a role model for her class but she is also an example for her community. By her determination to promote education in her village she has shown that everyone can live with equality and peace if they believe in revival. Sangeeta is determined to spread the light of education among other people and she is acting as a change agent in her community. There are many PEP students just like Sangeeta who remind us why we exist as an organization, and they are determined to bring change in their life as well as in the lives of others through education. Primary Education Project wants to ensure that the children have everything in order to promote education in their villages. We believe that our teachers and students are change agents. Join us, as we help the poor communities of Sindh to progress, develop, and shine the light of hope! Their faces showed their anticipation, as they saw us coming. They stood outside their classroom and were excited to welcome us. As we stood at the entrance, eagerly some kids came forward with a big smile on their face and sang a welcome song for our team members. They sang in a distorted melody but they sang it with such joy and enthusiasm that it made us feel more than welcomed. We encouraged them by clapping our hands in appreciation and the students blushed as one by one they went back in to sit on their seats.
We were led by the teacher to sit on a bench that faced towards the students. I was excited myself to be spending a day in a PEP school and I eagerly listened to the lesson that had begun. As I observed each student, I could see willingness, interest and determination as obediently they took out their books to read their lesson. One of our team members Purkho (Aflatoun Coordinator), who gave the students social and financial training, did a few activities with the children. The kids were learning about personal understanding and exploration. Through these activities we had a great chance to interact with all students, through asking questions and listening to their views. The children were asked to make a drawing of their village which helped them to understand how important it was to personally know the place where they lived. As the students struggled to make a drawing of their village, I strolled through each bench and looked at their drawings. I asked one of the students to show me their drawing, and they not only showed me but explained their whole drawing. These are houses. These are trees. This is a hand pump. This is a school. This is a playground. This is the toilet… The students were one by one called forward to show and explain their drawing in front of the class and they performed their task wonderfully. Through this activity the students were able to learn the changes that they could make in their village in future. They could build more trees, more toilets and thus fulfill their necessary needs. Their interest and enthusiasm clearly indicated the progress they were making. Even though these students belonged to poor families, they had the potential to make a difference and break the cycle of poverty in their community. All of these students were the first in their family to ever go to a school. I could see these students had dreams that they were working to fulfill. As we left the school and headed back, I could still see the smiling faces of the students before my eyes. I had seen hope that day and I believe that these students can make even greater progress in the future. ‘School is important for me, because today all that I am is only because of school.’ Haji is a PEP student who has a vision. He wants to continue studying because his dream is to become a doctor one day. Before Haji ever joined school he was a shepherd in his village. He used to work in the fields with the animals as well as working in his house. Haji never thought of going to school because he never thought he would be able to attend school. He had no knowledge about books or studying or tests. But when he used to see other children going to school, he wondered what it would be like to go to a school. After having a conversation with PEP Field Leaders, Haji received permission to begin attending school. His school life has made a great impact on his personality. Now that he is educated, he is respected by everyone in his village. He has become more disciplined in his studies and is learning how to realize his ambitions. He loves his school because he learns new things every day. Haji values the opportunity to be able to receive an education and dream big for his future. For Haji, school is place where he has learned new skills and gained knowledge that is helpful for his life. Through a number of PEP trainings such as peace education, community health education, disaster risk reduction, financial education, Haji now has the foundation to make himself a better person. Though sometimes it is hard to attend school because of the poverty he lives in, Haji wants to keep up his struggle because he has a vision of achieving something important in his life. He has the courage to take challenges and the determination to accomplish them. He has faith in his vision and he believes that through his constant hard work he will achieve his dream. Help other students like Haji to start going to school by supporting PEP projects on the 7th October. Join the Youth Spark Bonus Day!
Rukhsana was so proud of herself.
6 years ago she began attending a PEP Primary School in her village as the first female in her entire family to become literate. She says she loved going to school because everyday she learned new things and everyday her mind grew more. However, when Rukhsana finished 5th grade, her parents decided that she didn’t need anymore schooling. Instead, they decided that Rukhsana was ready to get married. A man was chosen, the engagement settled, and when Rukhsana should have been learning Pre-Algebra and Biology, she was becoming a wife to a man much older than she. Because she did pass elementary school, her parents were able to find her an educated husband, which statistically means her family will be better off health wise and at less risk for severe poverty. Though sometimes after girls get married at such a young age they are allowed to continue going to school, in Rukhsana’s community no female is allowed to leave the village. Not for buying food, not for visiting relatives, not for going to the doctor when they are sick, not for going to school. While the PEP school is in her village, the secondary school she needs to go to is about 1 km away. This short distance is too far for her family to allow her to go, even with a male family member. So Rukhsana cleans the house and sits with her mother in law when she could be writing essays and reading poetry. Our Women’s Empowerment Coordinator and teacher talked with her family recently about how important it is for her to continue schooling. Yet, they remain unconvinced. More conversations, more motivation, more prayers are needed. Join us in investing in communities like Rukhsana’s. Partner with us to speak out against child marriages and speak up for schools. Share her story and use your voice to make a difference! There is a village in one of the most remote desert areas of Sindh; there are no markets on the corner or small shops down the street. Sand gets caught in your eyelashes and fields of wheat rustle.
Our school here is only 3 months old. With such a young school you might expect to need to do some nurturing- a little encouraging to overcome some challenges that might have arisen, like you would with a young plant. However, when our Monitoring Team visited this school, the students had already sprouted up and were beginning to blossom. Right now the school children don’t have benches yet, so they simply sit on tarps. You could see them bouncing on those tarps though with unabashed enthusiasm and pride for their school.Three months ago these children were working in fields harvesting crops. Three months ago they were collecting wood to sell. Three months ago their feet were aching from standing up all day and their hands were blistered from wielding a blade for 12 hours to cut feed for animals. And when they were asked which they liked better- they stood up, their eyes wide, and yelled, “SCHOOL!” They are beginning to realize that they have something to offer. They are starting to grasp that they are more valuable than a donkey or a camel. They can do more than being a work animal and they can use their beautiful brains. Though only a handful of people have a primary education in the village, the families long to give their children what they never had. They want their children to recognize they are someone worth investing in. Three months ago they were child laborers. Today they are students, change makers, hope-bearers, future-planners, and thinkers. When you were 10, what did you do?
Play with your dog? Ride your bike? Bake cookies with your mom? When Ali was 10, he did none of these things. Ali loved school. He felt that his school was a safe place to be, that it gave him strength, and that his “brain got very big,” there. However, the teacher confronted Ali one day and told him that Ali’s father had not been paying his school fees. At PEP schools, every child pays 100 rupees (about $1 or 65 p) per month to ensure they are dedicated to coming to the school and to build community ownership of the school. The teacher thought it was odd that Ali’s parents had not paid, as parents rarely have complaints that the fee is too much of a financial burden for them. But Ali knew why. Ali’s father was an alcoholic and had refused to go to work to support his family. If his father did go to work, he spent all the money on cigarettes and alcohol. Ali, his mother, and his 3 younger siblings had to start working after school to help buy food for their family. When summer break came, Ali’s father was still not supporting his father so instead, Ali worked everyday in the fields and did jobs around his village so that he could earn enough money to support his family. At the end of the summer, Ali had made enough to keep himself and his 3 younger siblings in school for the next year, to buy a new outfit for each of his siblings, and had money left over to give to his mother for food! Ali also gained confidence that summer. When school started, he stood up to his father. He told him that he should not be wasting money on alcohol when his family had needs to be met. He even threatened to leave with his younger siblings and move in with relatives if his father didn’t stop drinking. Today, Ali’s father is working more and drinking less. He helped tell this story to PEP because he is proud of his son. Ali says that he learned determination and courage in school. He said that in school they taught him how to accomplish his dreams. Let us pray that Ali will always remember his dreams and have the courage to fight for them! |